Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Monday, August 29, 2011

Old fashioned peanut butter balls are a rich dessert, both in its heritage and its taste. A classic Christmas confection, peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar are rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. If you remember these from your childhood, one bite will take you right back.

Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Balls

In the Deep South, we don't typically do buckeyes, the peanut butter and chocolate confection from Ohio, that is partially dipped so that the result is patterned after the nut of the buckeye tree. We do peanut butter balls down here. The concept, of course, is the same, we just completely encase our peanut butter balls in chocolate. Raise your hand if you have memories of these peanut butter balls at Christmastime. I certainly do.

Mama made these every Christmas for as long as I can remember and back in the day she used the recipe for chocolate chips melted with the edible paraffin wax over a double boiler to make them. As a young gal I always thought it was odd to be consuming wax, but hey, they were so tasty that it really didn't make much never mind to us kids. You can just use your favorite chocolate candy coating, whatever you usually work with, though I have to admit, nothing really seems to work as well as the old paraffin method did.

While I realize that it's not Christmas quite yet, I recently made these for my grandson's pirate-themed birthday party - calling them cannonballs - and of course they were a hit as always, though I think they were more of a hit with the adults than the kids! Might have a bit to do with that whole nostalgia thing.

These are a little different from the no-bake, cafeteria peanut butter balls out there that contain some form of cereal, oatmeal, graham cracker, or other form of binder. Those are delicious too, but I prefer the creamier insides, and this is the way my Mama made them, so it's the way I make them too. Hard to break that tradition I guess.

Here's how I make them.

Cream together, by hand, the peanut butter and the butter, then mix in the powdered sugar a little at a time until well mixed. Use a small 1-tablespoon cookie scoop or just pinch off dough to form balls, rolling them into about 1-inch size. I love my scoopers, but I just pinched these off. Place onto wax paper or parchment covered baking trays and store in the refrigerator to firm up, for about an hour.

Melt the chocolate and the shortening in the top of a double boiler. Drop peanut butter balls, one at a time, into the chocolate and toss with a fork to cover. If you want to make Buckeyes, dip the balls so that you leave just a little bit of the peanut butter ball underneath showing at the top - toothpicks are handy for this job. Lift them out, letting the excess chocolate drain off, and transfer to wax or parchment paper to set. Repeat until you've done all the balls.

Cream together, by hand, the peanut butter and the butter. Mix in the powdered sugar a little at a time until well mixed. Use a small scoop or pinch off dough to form balls, rolling them into about 1-inch size. Place onto wax paper or parchment covered baking trays and store in the refrigerator to firm up, for about an hour.

Melt the chocolate and the shortening in the top of a double boiler. Work in batches, leaving remaining balls in the refrigerator, and quickly, dropping peanut butter balls, one at a time, into the chocolate and toss with a fork. Lift out, let excess chocolate drain off, and transfer to wax or parchment paper to set. Dough will make several dozen, depending on what size you roll them.

Cook's Notes: A double boiler works better for dipping than microwaving, but take care not to get water in your chocolate. It will seize up on you if you do. Don't try to substitute the shortening with butter, margarine, oil or whatnot. It will not work. Can substitute your favorite chocolate candy coating for the chocolate chips and shortening. If you're feeling retro, the original recipe calls for melting 2/3 cup of grated cooking paraffin with the chocolate chips, instead of the shortening. You can usually find boxes of paraffin near the canning supplies. Also can substitute a mixture of creamy and crunchy peanut butter, and even add in some chopped peanuts, if you prefer.

Peanut Butter Snowballs: Exchange out the white chocolate or candy coating for the chips. If using coating, omit the shortening.

Tip: When dipping, work in small batches, keeping the rest of the balls refrigerated. Work quickly, dropping a ball into the chocolate, roll it to cover, then lift and gently tap the fork on the side of the bowl to knock off excess chocolate. Pass the bottom of the fork across the edge of the pot as you transfer the ball. Let the ball slowly slide off of the fork onto the parchment paper. If you're adding any sprinkles, coconut or decorator sugars, do that here before the chocolate dries. The pooling that sometimes forms as the balls set can be trimmed off when the balls dry if desired.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

Mary,Great post! I had to stop making these every year because I would just about make myself sick eating so many of them. I use the paraffin wax method, just like your Mama. I will be making a batch as it gets close to Christmas so I can do a post about them. I'm scared. Please hold me!

I love old fashioned peanut butter balls and buckeyes. Mary do you remember when they used to use parrafin wax with the chocolate to make pb balls. That was the first recipe I ever saw for pb balls it was from a elderly lady I knew.

I sure do Tina - that's actually how my mama made them! If you look in the Cook's Notes at the bottom you'll see mention of how to do them with the paraffin. You just sub grated paraffin in for the shortening used in the recipe.

I love these....too much. I have been making them since as long as I can remember just the way you do. For halloween I dip them in white chocolate, press a brown m&m on top and when dry put some red icing squiggles....eyeballs! lolI would like to offer a tip on dipping the balls. I use a very study clear plastic fork with all the tines broken off except one. Don't use the flimsy white ones as they are not strong enough. When I drop the ball in the chocolate, I flip it over and stab it with the one tine and then drop it onto wax paper. It easily slides right off the plastic tine, then put a drop of chocolate over the hole that is created.I started making cakeballs a few years ago and tried many things to dip those little things and this has worked best. I made 500 cakeballs and 200 peanut butter balls for my granddaughters wedding last weekend and they all turned out great! There was lots of wedding cake left because everyone gobbled up the peanut butter balls.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

From time to time, anonymous restrictions and/or comment moderation may be activated due to comment spam. I also reserve the right to edit, delete or otherwise exercise total editorial discretion over any comments left on this blog.

Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or RSS feed, or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

DISCLAIMER: This is a recipe site intended for entertainment. By using this site and these recipes you agree that you do so at your own risk, that you are completely responsible for any liability associated with the use of any recipes obtained from this site, and that you fully and completely release Mary Foreman and Deep South Dish LLC and all parties associated with either entity, from any liability whatsoever from your use of this site and these recipes.

ALL CONTENT PROTECTED UNDER THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. CONTENT THEFT, EITHER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. Recipes may be printed ONLY for personal use and may not be transmitted, distributed, reposted, or published elsewhere, in print or by any electronic means. Seek explicit permission before using any content on this site, including partial excerpts, all of which require attribution linking back to specific posts on this site. I have, and will continue to act, on all violations.